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Stan Burt finished his undergraduate degree in Physics from MSU in the mid-'60's, and participated at the RFRL as a student worker in 1965-1966. While at the lab, he worked on the L-19 STOL project, and was responsible for measuring the volume of air that was drawn through the suction holes in the wings that enabled the plane to achieve its incredible STOL capability.
To achieve this, Burt would fly in the backseat of the 2 seat aircraft, buried under gauges, instruments, a helmet, and parachute. The lab director, Sean Roberts, was the pilot. When Burt asked Roberts what he should do if they got into any trouble, Roberts responded, "crawl out, count to 3, and pull the chute!"
Burt was also involved with a project that tested the influence of gravity on the acceleration of spheres falling in water. While attempting to photograph the ball-bearings that were used in the project, the balls would drift out of the plane, resulting in blurry photos. When Burt asked, "How can I keep my balls from spinning?" he was told to stand very still.
Burt recollects Sean Roberts being a great pilot. On one occasion, Roberts was flying the Marvel experimental aircraft with another RFRL worker, when the plane got into trouble. Roberts managed to put the plane down in a field. After resolving the problem, Roberts decided to fly the plane out of the field. His passenger opted to walk back to the lab.
On another occasion, Roberts was flying the school glider when a thunderstorm, blowing east-west, suddenly approached. Although the runways at Starkville run north-south, Roberts deployed the spoilers, dropped the glider like a rock, managed to clear a row of powerlines, and landed the glider on the east-west taxiway.
In 1967, engineer and STP team owner Andy Granatelli brough a revolutionary new turbine-powered car to Indianapolis. Driver Parnelli Jones dominated the entire field for the majority of the race on race day. During the last few laps, a small $6 bearing failed, and the turbine died. With four laps to go, A.J. Foyt passed Jones for the lead and eventual victory . However, the turbine had demonstrated its potential.
Jack Adams, like Granatelli, also saw the potential of the turbine, and had begun construction of his own turbine-powered Indy car. Adams had been a pilot for Delta, and decided to retire when the company transitioned from prop-driven aircraft to jets. He then created his own business in Memphis, Tennessee, dealing in aircraft sales.
Adams had approached RFRL engineer Glenn Bryant about building the turbine-powered race car, and Bryant agreed to participate. Stan Burt would be involved in the entire process as well, and construction of the car took plave in Bryant's basement.
The car was designed around a GM Allison 250 Turbo-Shaft turbine engine, capable of revving to 33,000RPM's. The engine had originally been designed for use in helicopters, but the Adams design team turned the motor sideways and re-plumbed the oil lines to get it to work in the front engine-mounted, 4-wheel drive car. The chassis was an all monocoque construction, and the suspension and wheels were originally faired in. Unforunately, this would hinder any attempts at repairing broken components during a race. The cockpit had an aircraft-like appearance, and the driver was virtually laying down. The cockpit tub was supported by balsa, and the exhaust from the front-mounted turbine ran beside the cockpit, although it was well insulated. The car was extremely aerodynamic, featuring boundary recovery on the tail. The Indy officials would ban the use of the rear wheel fairings, and the car ran without them.
The Adams team was originally sponsored by Wynn's and was dubbed the "Wynn's Storm Special," but after Wynn's pulled its sponsorship, the car ran as "The Jack Adams Airplane Special."
Al Miller drove the car during qualifying for the 1969 event. Although the car was capable of reaching 200MPH speeds, the solid axle suspension caused it to bounce in the corners, and the car failed to qualify, finishing 35th for a 33-car event. Granatelli's car, driven by Mario Andretti, would win the 1969 Indianapolis 500. After the 1969 race season, turbine-powered cars were banned.
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